Some gaming characters will stay with you forever and the
iconic Donkey Kong is one of those characters. Donkey Kong
and I have had a great relationship over the past 25 or so years. I
remember playing Donkey Kong of the original LCD handhelds,
then on the Super NES, Nintendo 64 and GameCube. Great times for
all!

The best Donkey Kong game created was
Donkey Kong Country on the Super NES which is still one of
the best arcade games of all-time. This game had everything, from a
cool sidekick called Diddy to a variety of challenging levels that
involved Rhinos, Ostriches and the nefarious Kremlings, the enemies
in the game. It was a classic side scrolling arcade game with 3D
inspired graphics.

So when I heard about Donkey Kong
Country on the Nintendo Wii, I was over the moon. Would it be a
remake or would it be something totally different? Thankfully the
game pays true homage to the original title but thanks to new
developers Retro Studios, they created a game in its own right. It
may look like another side scrolling arcade game as you jump, swing
on vines, collect bananas and fight evil... but boy is it fun!

The new story has forced Donkey Kong and his nephew to once again
save Donkey Island from the evil Tikis or more specifically the Tik
Take tribe who have stolen Kong's bananas and made the animals on
this island act a little strange. Yes my fellow arcade gamers, the
Tikis have been very very and it's up to Kong and Diddy to
save the day in this all-new instalment of Donkey Kong Country
Returns.

Like the previous games, players
control Donkey Kong but if you find Diddy, Donkey's nephew, he jumps
on your back for some additional support. Certain areas of the game
make it easier if you have Diddy, just like the original. One cool
factor about this new Wii game is that the game supports a 2-player
mode where one player plays Donkey Kong and the other Diddy... very
cool! At its delicious gaming heart, the game is oozing with retro
gameplay such as the limited health for Donkey Kong and even a
jetpack for him.

Apart from jumping around, defeating
enemies and looking for power-ups. You need to find secret areas and
collect the letters K, O, N & G which we all know what it spells.
It's great that the developers have kept its classic arcade feel
with exploding barrels, banana coins and great boss battles. If you
do get stuck, the game contains a Super Guide feature like New Super
Mario Bros., this means if you feel too challenged, the game can
assist with your current level. There is even mine cart races as
well! YAY!

The control system is perfectly mapped
on the Wiimote and the game plays extremely well. The response time
is great as you time jumps and defeat your enemies with help from
your little sidekick. If Donkey Kong does manage to lose all his
hearts (health), you've always got Diddy to try and get him back.

Just like another Nintendo game, by shaking the controller, this
unleashes Donkey Kong's rage and he smashes the ground to stun the
enemies around him. You also need to use the nunchuck which
moves this game away from the "classic" control system and brings
the gameplay to the 21st century.

The game does support multiplayer but
at times, it does become a little frustrating because there is no
"lock" function, if a player gets too far behind, it effects the
gameplay. You're also both penalised for losing a life as well. But
once you get the hang of multiplayer, it's actually not that bad.
Single player is far superior but multiplayer has some merits as
well.

Graphically, this is a visually pleasing game. The animation mimics
those classic Saturday morning cartoons with vibrant colours and
lush animations. The characters look amazing, especially if you have
your game connected to a FULL HD TV. Even though it's not FULL HD
game, the Wii does not support this, it still looks gloriously fun
through the component cables. The environments are quite diverse
from jungles to beaches and forests. Unfortunately there isn't any
underwater play which was a highlight in the classic game.

WOOHOO!

The soundtrack of Donkey Kong Country
Returns on Wii is easily the best sounding game of the year and
pays good homage to the titles before it with that jungle type music
with the drums. The sound effects are quite fun as well which suits
the premise of this game perfectly, just like a cartoon. Great
gameplay, great graphics and great sound! That's an A+ for me!

Conclusion

This is how games should be made and
kudos to Nintendo and Retro Studios for nowt trying to re-invent the
wheel in Donkey Kong Country Returns on Wii. With almost flawless
gameplay, awesome graphics and good old fashioned arcade fun, I can
see lots of people playing this game over Christmas because by
MARIO... it's the most fun I've had in a long time! Awesome awesome
awesome!